The following information will provide you with answers to questions you may have regarding your upcoming move to MAPS.

What is de-designation?

In accordance with Section 60(2) of the Alberta Post-secondary Learning Act (PSLA), the Board of Governors of the University of Alberta, after consulting with the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA), has the authority to change the "academic designation" of positions and/or individuals and by doing so, exclude them from the scope of the Academic Staff. The exclusion process for academic staff is commonly referred to as de-designation. Excluded staff are not represented by a bargaining association or trade union.

Who is being de-designated?

In alignment with criteria defined by the Alberta Labour Relations Board, selected positions and individuals that have significant managerial responsibilities or are involved in confidential labour relations within their assigned roles that place them in a conflict with membership in a bargaining association were reviewed. At this time, 189 positions are being considered for a change in designation status.

Why are positions being de-designated?

Staff responsible for performing confidential labour relations functions or have significant managerial responsibilities for other members of a bargaining unit must be able to do so without real or perceived conflict of interest with their membership in a bargaining association or trade union.

Legislative changes to the PSLA in 2017 brought academic labour relations under the Labour Relations Code and have compelled the University to establish a separation between positions responsible for managerial and confidential labour relations functions and the academic staff who remain within the bargaining unit.

Excluding managerial positions and those positions that perform confidential labour relations functions from the collective agreement is common practice among educational institutions throughout Canada.

How will de-designation impact employees?

Persons and positions being de-designated will be removed from the scope of the Association of Academic Staff University of Alberta (AASUA) collective agreements and become Management and Professional Staff (Excluded), otherwise known as MAPS.